wHy NOT to buy?

This may wind up being long winded. hear me out.

In the next year/ or two i'm saving up about 1000 a month and plan on buying a nice sports car. Nice being in the 40-60 thousand range after about 20 grand down.

I've looked at lots and lots of cars out there. and i've narrowed it down to 4 cars. Truthfully the only way i'd be happy is to own all four, but alas! I recently learned money does NOT grow on trees.

The four cars in question are :
2006 Corvette Z06
2003 - Mercedes Benz SL500 or 600
Lamborghini Countach Newer the better (or a diablo if they've come down enough)
Ferrari 355 Newer the better

Now i can look at a stats list and find a dozen reasons to buy any of these cars. Now i want to know why i shouldn't buy them. Heres what i think so far.

Vette. Cept for a diablo, the new z is by far the fastest of the bunch. Has only a V-8 although 7.0 litres is huge! Cheap interior . can get some amenities like dvd nav and premium sound. Everyone has a vette! not very exclusive. no convertible! can afford one with a warranty.

mercedes. I am a proud owner of a c-class so i know mercedes is awesome for interiors. 600 has powerful V-12. (cant afford a sl65 :( 605 hp 720lbs torque....oooooohhhh) As luxurious a ride as you can get. heavy for a sports car. Mercedes safty record (trust me. i hit a concrete wall in mine at 60mph and me and the car live). power Hard top.

Lambo. Coutach is somewhat slow compared to some of the other cars. Diablo would be nice. Exclusivity. You see a lamborghini, you stop and stare. No convertible. Diablo did have a road\ster prob too new to be affordable in two years. V-12 sound. If you cant pick up chicks in a lamborghini you have problems :) Boyhood dream car.

Ferrari: testarossa would be nice too. no convt though. 355 has convertible. Slightly slower than other cars on list. Ferrari! ummm... help? Why didn't they make 360's 15 years ago?

Please add anything else! Maintenence costs, upgradeable?, MPG, Can i add navigation/system easily, interior nice/crap, resale value (NO!).

Anything will help. I dont want to buy something half as much as my house without a good idea of what i'm getting into.

And ahead of time, thanks for all the help :)

Well, I'd take a wait and see approach. By the time you make a move on the Z06 in a couple of years, there'll be chatter about the next generation C7 which I know is gonna blow away the C6 program. A lot more seperation if you know what I mean. As for the other cars, yeah I've ridden in 'em, seen 'em do the track circuit thing, and yep', Lambo, Ferrari and Vette and the Vette (a Z06) blew 'em away. The Lambo is nice on the outside but the ride is just horrible. Ferarri, just not impressed. Then you better think about the million and one things that can go wrong and the cost to fix them. Extremely expensive. And that's even if you maintain them impeccably. You did say so yourself, that you now realize that money doesn't grow on trees. :smokin:

I'll probably still look used first. A slightly used z06 will save me 20-30 thousdand i'm sure.

And either way when i got a nice downpayment i'll be buying. I'd try to wait but .... I mean i used to smash up al;l my hot wheels cept for my testarossa countach and vetts.

but your right. cant stop forward progress :)

sounds like many people are very impressed with the new Z. You really cant argue with the price :)

Buying used is always a great way to save HUGE amounts of $$$...
I always say test drive all of the cars that you have a interest in and see what fits your driving tastes!
Good luck/skill...
*I always have plenty of cool cars to choose from! :)

I think you also have to look at long term costs. I know the Lambos and Ferraris are notorious for expensive repairs, but regular maintenance is going to be a pain.

Lets face it your not going to Jiffy Lube to get a $185k+ car's oil changed. But at least since the Z06 is made by the General you know that you can get repairs and regular maintanace done at the local dealer or if you so desire Jiffy Lube.

Insurance, you may want to save an extra grand a month for your insurance on those exotics. I know the Z06 is not going to be cheap but I'll bet it's cheaper that the other three.

And you can get a Brand New Z06 for the same money as the others are used.

go with the new 500hp zo6 for the money that is the fastest mother f***er on the streets it runs 12 seconds flat in the quarter mile! It ran neck and neck with the ford GT and totaly smoked the new viper, put a supercharger in this beast and any car on the road will bow in your presence :sunglasse my parents better be glad I cannot sell enough body parts to come up with 60k to get one!

If you're looking for a sports car, it's not even a question, the ZO6 will suck the doors off everything on that list, and on a track, forget about it. The only thing any of the others has on it is the screaming Ferrari sound. But then again, a 7000 rpm small block doesn't sound too bad either...:grinno:

I'm kinda interestedin the cadillac XLR-V when it comes out too. I would like to see some proof positive numbers but it sounds like a winner.

The frame is mostly corvette and i think they had some vette guys work on developing it. plus you can use the nav screen as a DVD player with air conditioned seats.... Luxury might once again win out over performance.

New Ferrari and Lambo buyers don't worry about expenses. That's why both cars can get about 10 mpg and the dealers can charge $1500 and up for a major tune-up! NO wonder about 25% of Ferrari owners do all their own maintenance: $5,000 for a set of Italian Facom tools, a factory manual or DVD and you're ready to go with a full size toy, a giant R/C car to play with! No pressure, if you have a Ferrari you have at least one daily driver-type car, too.

Insurance can be a big problem. But if you don't drive your exotic much (most owners seem to put on a couple of thousand fair-weather miles per year) you probably can qualify for collector car insurance at reasonable rates.

After 15 years with few noticeable changes in the styling, Vipers are not much more distinctive than 'Vettes. And if you think the 'Vette interior looks cheap, forget about the Viper!

A clean late-model 'Vette will give you fewer maintenance headaches and more performance than you will ever be able to use on the street. And I'm not even talking about the Z06!

well a decision was made. The other person ghelping to pay for the beast (read wifey) said vette. So we have to buy a vette.

Will i take the forced decision lying down? hell no! used C5 vette 25000 + 45000 lingenfelter motor enhancement = 70 grand. about the same as a new z06 with 800 hp at the wheels. http://www.lingenfelter.com/

They have a video of a c5 with an AUTOMATIC do the 1/4 in 8.95. Seems like the best buy for the money AND they have a warranty :)

I would buy the Vette too. My second choice would be the V-12 Mercedes, it's more of a sleeper and you wouldn't expect it to haul ass. Open up the exhaust and I'm sure it would sound as good as the Lambo/Ferrari.
The Lingenfelter option sounds like a lot of money but it does make a lot of power.
So, what is the weak link w/all of that torque? If you break something it will have to be fixed. Vettes are durable and cheaper to fix than a European car, but that doesn't mean that parts are still cheap. Everything is expensive these days.

well, we see who wears the pants in that family. jk

out of those choices i think the countach is ugly and the whole fiero conversion just ruins that car for me i can never look at them the same. the new z06 is incredible. me personally id opt for a 408ci c5 zo6 with a procharger and cam. but out of your choices i think the 355 is the way to go; it might not be the fastest but damn those are nice cars.
*edit* and if your thinking lingenfelter is the way to go; do a TON of research before u ship a car off to someone like that. ive read horror stories about hennessey and all those guys who do major custom builds keeping cars forever selling off stock parts w/ no parts to put on; giant messes and lawsuits. IF you do get it all said and done the lingenfelter is utterly insane. i got stomped by a white one at OCMD one year; he left my car like it was in reverse..never saw anything like it.

Unfortunately the Mercedes in the U.S. have a limited top speed if 155mph. But I do not think that the SL600 can loose to the Z06. I was in Germany a few months ago and a friend of mine took me to the Autobahn. He got the SL600 to 210MPH but then slowed down because of the wind shear. Lets face the facts we are in the U.S., I would recommend the Z06 over the SL500/600 because if you want to take the Vette to the track, it will be faster than the SL500/600 in top speed because of the spped limiter. Your pick...I recommend the Z06 though.

domestic cars ftw

^ whats FTW? and i'd go w/ a Z06.

Zo6 Owns All!!!!!

Several things I noticed. First if you're asking the question in a Corvette forums I think you're looking for excuses to not buy the other cars and by the Z06. In this case - settle your mind and purchase the Vette. Help the keep the Canucks and Michinigians employed.

Second is you want to be distinctive. True Vettes aren't as rare as the "true" exotics but they are still uncommon. Especially those with the gorgeous chrome badges on the side fendors! If you want it to be distinctive then you can allways ship the car off to Mallot for example although Rousch does a much better job IMHO with less mechanical issues when they're done. If you really want distinctive looks and a beast on the street & the tracks the ship her to Lingenfelter, LPE. After their total body upgrades...you're bound to see F50's in your rear and make the Enzo jealous because you'd be running with them and when they spend time on their precious tune up or at the gas station, you're still on the streets! And it cost you so much less $$$.

...

Please add anything else! Maintenence costs, ... ,MPG, ...

Somethin' about spendin' 40 - 60k on a vehicle, and concernin' oneself with maintenance costs and MPG's, that doesn't jibe...:confused:

Don't trust me. Don't even trust American's! Check out the review the TopGear BRITISH Guys gave the C6. They Adore the c6. If you buy a c6 you will have a SUPERCAR at a good price. topgear.com. Check it. They test all the good stuff and they'd still buy the Corvette!

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